The Cottoncrest Curse: A Novel

Chapter 28

96 Chapter 28 “And where did you leave your horse?” “’Bout a mile and a half back, in the woods beyond the cane fields, Raifer.” Raifer was furious. Bucky and Tee Ray were standing below them on the ground under the oak trees, a shallow trench scraped through the brown winter grass right down into the dirt marking the path they made dragging the big trunk from the barn. Raifer was standing, hands on his hips, on the edge of the veranda. Dr. Cailleteau took the cup of coffee that Jenny was offering and waved her away, a signal for her to go inside. “What’s the matter with you, Bucky? You been drinking sack posset , putting wine in your milk? Has Tee Ray here been serving you calibogus , getting you full of rum and spruce beer? Didn’t I tell you to get to Parteblanc and send that flimsy? Bucky, I don’t think you have the sense God gave to a large rock, a small pebble, or even a tiny dornick.” “Now, don’t be mad at him, Raifer. You got to give Bucky here credit. He done solved all your problems.” Raifer looked questioningly at Tee Ray. He didn’t need any help, certainly not from Tee Ray. “I mean, Bucky has gotten it all right, from the very first. He’s been tellin’ us all there was a curse, and now we know what the curse was, and we know who the curse was.” “And how, Tee Ray, do we know?” “It’s right here, Raifer,” Bucky chirped up, “right here in this chest.” Raifer walked down the broad wooden steps and approached Bucky and Tee Ray. Bucky took one step backward, but Tee Ray simply reached down and pulled open the lid. “Raifer. Look at all this. This was hidden in the hayloft, just as Bucky said. We had to break the locks off with a 97 sledgehammer, and it kind of ruined the front, but you can see all this stuff inside. It answers all the questions.” Dr. Cailleteau roused himself from the rocking chair on the veranda and, placing the coffee cup on the table, slowly moved down the stairs. Although they were made of stout cypress, they groaned under his weight. “You see, Raifer,” Bucky said, as Tee Ray started taking the contents out, layer by layer. “It says ‘Prop. of J. Gold’ on the side. That’s the Jew Peddler what’s been spending so much time here. Why would he go and hide this big chest way up in the hayloft? Had to hoist it up with ropes, I guess, to get it up there. And why here? Why hidden? Lookee. Just look.” Raifer could see clearly the treasures inside. Layer upon layer of fine skins. Months’ worth of work for trappers and hunters. These would fetch a lot in New Orleans. They’d bring a small fortune if the trader had contacts up the river. They’d be even more valuable if someone could get them all the long way to New York by train. All those fancy women wanting to wear those fancy furs. “That ain’t all, though, Raifer. If that was all there was, it would be strange enough, but I done solved it, I did!” Tee Ray let Bucky enjoy himself. Let Bucky take the credit. No one would believe that Bucky had solved anything, but as long as what had to be done got done, it didn’t matter. Bucky came around to the front of the chest and pulled off the bottom layer of skins, revealing a small roll of canvas tied tightly with a narrow strip of leather. “Open it up, Raifer. Go ahead. See what’s inside !” Raifer picked up the bundle and placed it on the ground. Kneeling next to it, he untied the leather binding and unrolled the canvas. “See! What did I tell you! You were lookin’ for a bullet, Raifer, and the more I thought about it, the more I figured there had to be a reason. And in talkin’ to Tee-Ray . . .” Raifer looked up at Tee Ray, whose mouth was bent into a grin. Raifer did not return the smile but maintained his steely demeanor. There was nothing that Bucky could have figured out on his own. “You see, how could the Colonel Judge have done all that to Miss Rebecca and then shot himself in his left temple with his hand all twisted? [3...